Chicago, IL –- As I sit here contemplating the myriad of events lined up for this Memorial Day weekend, I can't help but feel a little overwhelmed and amazed. Memorial Day weekend is of course, IML Weekend in Chicago. It is also the weekend of ShibariCon, the Grabbys, play parties at the Chicago Hellfire Club and now the Pantheon of Leather Awards. With a line up like that, you'd figure Chicago would be the place you'd find me this weekend but I'm not sure I can really express just how queer this coming weekend feels to me... it's kind of surreal...
You know, I'm still not really sure how all of this came to present itself, but somehow over the course the past year and a half, I not only became an adult video performer, but a leading player within the fetish/Sm scene both on screen and in play spaces and forums across the US and Canada. This weekend, for sure, is a long way from my roots as an activist once content acting in his local community.
Friday afternoon, my boy Derek and I will be teaching two classes at ShibariCon. At 14:30 we will be presenting One Rope, Two Knots and Three Ties. This is an introductory class that simplifies rope bondage down to its most basic elements. There are limitless possibilities in the creative use of few basic ties. All you really need are a couple of simple knots and a few simple ties to have a ton of fun. We will show how most bondage is done by combining a few basic building blocks - and show very easy to learn ways to do them. Then we'll show how these can be combined in endless creative ways. Ties covered include a simplified one column tie, a simplified two column tie and a basic body harness. All of these are done using only two different knots - yet they can be used for varying applications like a spread eagle bed tie, a hog tie, a chair tie, and many other variations. I've posted PDFs of both the full-color slides and the black & white handouts for this class. At 16:30 we will be presenting Partial Suspension Rigging for Play. This is an introductory class on Shibari techniques used to rig partial suspensions that facilitate other aspects of play such as impact, electro and sex. We'll guide participants through two interactive sets of rigging to help foster a basic understanding of safety considerations, foundational concepts, fundamental ties and how these elements are brought together to create a scene that includes partial suspension. Each rigging set will include and opportunity for practical application. I've posted PDFs of both the full-color slides and the black & white handouts for this class as well.
Friday evening at the IML host hotel, the Hilton Chicago, the Pantheon of Leather Awards will be announced. I nearly fell out of my chair a couple months ago when I was informed that I had been nominated as Man of the Year, but I don't know if we'll be attending the awards ceremony. With three boys in tow, I'm not sure shelling out $120 for tickets to sit through another awards show this weekend is the best use of funds... I couldn't even score a comp ticket as a nominee.
We will, however, be attending the San Francisco Party Friday night in the Grand Ballroom. Thanks to TitanMen.com, Folsom Street Events, Steamworks and the Powerhouse you don't have to score a comp ticket for this massive party sure to attract thousands of fetish enthusiasts for cruising, dancing and a whole lot of unspeakable fun. This party is free and open to the public. I'll be there with my boys Derek da silva, Chris Yosef and Element along with TitanMen exclusives Dean Flynn, Will Parker and Rick van Sant and director Brian Mills.
TitanMen.com release of Folsom Flesh in association with Priape. Folsom Flesh is the sixth in the series of co-branded Folsom films and exclusive leather/fetish films of the Folsom Street Fair. Yes, that's me on the cover with my scene partner, Will Parker. I've seen our scene, which opens the movie and I can confidently report it is one of the most stunning depictions of hardcore fetish/Sm ever captured on screen. It is fifty-six minutes of brutal man-on-man action like you have never seen before.
While at the TitanMen/Priape booth in the IML vendor market, we will also be offering a sneak peak at the new 'Rough' line of RACK inspired, extreme fetish/Sm features I am co-directing with Paul Wilde for Titan. There will be clips from the first two features, Fist and Piss and Shock Treatment playing on the big screen throughout the day to give you a glimpse of the 'Rough' action. And, as an IML exclusive, you can purchase your own copy of Rough: Fist and Piss before it is even available on-line, but only at the TitanMen/Priape booth. I'll be at the booth with the boys Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 to 13:00 and again on Monday from 12:00 to 17:00.
Saturday afternoon the boys and I will be hitting the Chicago Hellfire Club's IML Cocktail Party in the Willford Room at the host hotel. The cocktail party goes from 15:00 to 18:00, but we'll probably be arriving a little late from Grabby rehearsals.
Saturday night the boys and I will join the entire Titan crew for the Grabby Awards at the Park West Theatre. I have three individual Grabby award nominations this year including: Best Newcomer, Best Actor for my role in Home Invasion, and Best Solo Sex Scene again in Home Invasion. Titan Media's Home Invasion also earned a Best Movie nomination, Joe Gage nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay, and Tyler Saint a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Folsom Prison and Folsom Undercover are both nominated for Best Fetish Video with Folsom Undercover also getting a nod for Best Box Cover. In the Best Fetish Extreme Video category, Sounding #1, which I did with Derek for Raging Stallion before signing with Titan, and Derek's feature with Steel Mill Media, The Mechanic, both received nominations. Guess which one I'm rooting for? Another of the features that I contributed to, Titan Media's Funhouse also earned a nomination for Best Art Direction. And two of my favorite photographers, Brian Mills and Joe Oppedisano both received nominations for Best Still Photography. It should be an interesting show.
After the Grabbys Saturday night, I expect the boys and I will be hitting the Hole for a series of celebratory/commiseratory drinks. The Hole is quite possibly the last players' bar left in the States, so I'm sure we'll have a blast.
Sunday afternoon and evening, I'm taking the boys to the Chicago Hellfire Club play parties for some fun... Yay! Blood Orgy!
Well, that about covers our plans for the weekend. The boys and I will be posting regular updates chronicling our activities via Twitter. You can follow @tonyBuff, @DerekDaSilva, @ and @ElementPDX and catch all the details as they happen.
